


Life After Attenborough

by squilf



Category: W1A
Genre: F/M, First In The Fandom, post-series 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-30 23:44:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12663888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squilf/pseuds/squilf
Summary: Izzy kisses Will for the first time at the BBC Me launch.





	Life After Attenborough

**Author's Note:**

> Set during and after the events of the series 3 finale, because it gave me feels. And because it might be the last series of W1A ever, so whatever happens next is anyone’s guess.

Izzy kisses Will for the first time at the BBC Me launch. _What am I doing_ , she thinks, right before she grabs the back of his neck and pulls him down into a kiss. Will squeaks in surprise and oh, fuck, that’s adorable. For a moment, he’s completely still, stunned. Izzy smiles against his mouth. And then suddenly Will’s kissing her back and his hands are around her waist and shit, she’s… yeah, she’s actually snogging Will Humphries in front of most of the BBC. Izzy… needs more Prosecco.

 

Afterwards, life at the BBC is business as usual. It was just a kiss at a work party. Nothing earth shattering. It was bound to happen at some point. They’ve been working together for a few years, and she’s been desperately single for pretty much all of it. Will is... well, Will is here, and he's sweet, and he has a crush on her. And it’s been weeks since the BBC Me launch, and nothing has changed between them. Izzy is just busier and more stressed. She’s buried under a pile of work, her earphones in, when she feels the familiar sensation of being watched.

“Hi Will,” she says, out of habit.

“Oh hi Izzy.”

Izzy jumps and spins around in her chair, ripping her earphones out in the process.

“David!”

David is standing there impassively, coffee in hand, smiling.

“Lovely Izzy.”

“Sorry, it’s just, it’s usually Will standing there.”

“Lovely Will.”

“What can I help you with, David?”

“So the thing is Izzy, it’s like I’ve just seen something and I feel like I ought to tell you about it.”

“Don’t you usually tell Lucy this kind of thing?”

“Yeah I know right, lovely Lucy. But no, actually I wanted to tell you. Also I couldn’t find Lucy. Can I just say, I was just in the canteen getting a lemon and poppyseed muffin because I thought, well go on David, treat yourself –”

“Yes?”

“Well anyway, I was standing in line because it is busy at this time of day, it always is but you get that midmorning craving don’t you, especially with my metabolism. Anyway I was standing there getting a lemon and poppyseed muffin, and then I looked up and it’s like, Ian Fletcher? Taking Will and Jack down the hall to the first aid room? And they looked like they’d been in a fight or something.”

“A fight?”

“Yes I know yes. About you.”

David raises his eyebrows suggestively.

“About me?” says Izzy.

“Yes. You’re a real little heartbreaker aren’t you?”

“I'm not – I don’t think – what makes you say that?”

“Well, what else would those two fight about? And I heard Ian yelling ‘not even Izzy Gould is worth it’. Honestly, what have you been up to young lady?”

David touches her arm playfully and stands there smiling, clearly waiting for gossip.

“I ought to – you know, I ought to check they’re alright,” Izzy says, getting up from her chair.

“Oh yes. Lovely Izzy.”

 

Will and Jack both look a state.

“Oh my god, Will, what did you do?” Izzy says.

“Yeah, it’s like, I dunno. I’m fine. You should see the other guy.”

“Hey,” says Jack from the other side of the first aid room, holding an ice pack to his face.

Without thinking Izzy flies to Will, holding his head in her hands and examining his face. His eyelids flutter. A bruise is blossoming over his eye, already turning purple.

“Oh, Will,” she says.

“Yeah I know, yeah crap.”

“Where’s Ian?” she asks.

“Getting a nurse,” says Jack, “Gonna need stitches, apparently.”

“What happened?” Izzy asks, still looking Will over.

“Okay, so basically Jack was being a dick?” Will says.

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

“I am right here,” says Jack.

“About you,” Will adds.

“About me? What did he say?”

Will looks down, says nothing. Izzy turns to face Jack.

“What did you say about me?”

Jack shrugs.

“Just that it’s sad how you’ve gotten so lonely and desperate for attention.”

“What? Where did you get that from?”

“Well,” Jack says, looking pointedly at her and Will.

“What is that meant to mean?” says Izzy.

“Nothing. It’s just, you’re good at what you do. You could do really well for yourself. And you used to be serious about that. But you were prepared to throw that away. For him.”

Will stands up.

“Yeah okay, so I could totally hit you again?” he says.

“Yeah I bet you could,” says Jack.

He looks very nonchalant for a man with a split lip and an icepack on his face.

Will looks at Izzy.

“I totally could, though.”

Izzy rounds on Jack.

“I don’t see how it’s any of your business what I do. I’m just your colleague. Try being professional.”

Jack scoffs.

“Yeah, I’m sure Will can give me some pointers there.”

Izzy takes Will’s hand.

“Come on, Will, we’re leaving.”

“Okay, yeah cool okay.”

She leads Will out of the room, and before she knows what she's doing she’s pushing him gently against the wall and kissing him. Will makes a small startled noise. He looks at her for a moment, silent.

“Sorry,” Izzy says, “I just – well, don’t hit him again, but I’m glad you did.”

Will smiles, and it’s so open and warm and happy she wants to kiss it off him.

“Yeah, cool, yeah.”

“You should wait here for the nurse,” Izzy says, nodding at his eye, “She might have to, well. She might have to take a look at it.”

“Yeah, wait for the nurse, cool.”

“I guess I ought to get back. I’ve got this thing with – well, I’ve got a thing.”

“Yeah.”

“Look after yourself. I need you in one piece, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Cool.”

 

Jack ends up having five stitches on his forehead. Will gets off with just a black eye. No one mentions it. But Izzy knows people are talking. This is the BBC, after all.

 

On Your Bike is finally, finally starting to get off the ground. Izzy’s keeping a close eye on the whole thing. Just to make sure it’s on track. Will’s idea deserves to be done well. Ian is behind it, and so is Simon – the whole folding bike crew – and without Matt and Anna around, things are actually going pretty smoothly. Jack isn’t so keen, but there’s not a lot he can do about it, except be disparaging, and Izzy is pretty used to that.

“It’s a great idea, you know,” Ian says, “Not that I, I mean programming isn’t my area, but it is very BBC.”

He’s just had a quick look at some of the documents Izzy’s run up for it. She knows it didn’t take him long, but he wouldn’t have taken time out of his day unless he thought it was important. Or if it was Siobhan.

“Well, it’s Will’s idea,” says Izzy, “I’m just trying to make sure it gets done right.”

“You’re very across this whole thing. You should sit in on a Way Ahead meeting when things are a bit further along. You know, make sure everyone’s on the same page with this.”

 “You know, Will could come too,” Izzy says, “He’s actually helped me a lot with this whole thing.”

“I’m sure he has. But I think those meetings are hectic enough.”

Izzy knows that Ian cares about Will, but she thinks he underestimates him too. She doesn’t blame him – she used to. Before… well, before Attenborough.

 

Izzy is wading through formats for Britain’s Tastiest Village – yes, apparently that’s happening again now, with Ainsley Harriott, don’t ask – when she feels the familiar presence by her shoulder.

“Hi Will,” she says.

“Yeah, hi Izzy.”

Will is wearing his coat and carrying his beloved fold-up bike. It’s quiet. Broadcasting House is never truly empty – news is 24 hours these days, as Neil likes to remind them – but pretty much everyone on their floor has left.

“You ought to go home. It’s late,” Izzy says.

“Yeah, cool yeah.”

There’s a pause before Will says, “Are you staying?”

“Got too much to do.”

“Yeah, crap. Can I get you anything?”

Izzy sighs.

“I’d kill for a mocha. Or an espresso. Anything to keep me awake.”

Will returns with a huge plastic cup of coffee and a chocolate muffin. Izzy groans obscenely when she sees it. She didn’t realise how hungry she is.

“This is amazing,” she says in between bites, “You’re amazing.”

Will is looking at her like she’s beautiful.

“Sorry,” Izzy says, “What do I owe you?”

“Oh no, it’s cool.”

“You sure? Because I think I have a fiver somewhere…”

“Yeah yeah, don’t worry. Don’t stay too late.”

Will leans down and kisses the top of her head, and she’s surprised at how normal that feels. Like he does it all the time. She would wonder when he got so bold, but she has kissed him a few times now, so he’s not presuming too much really. It’s just a small, sweet thing. He pulls away, looks at her intently, and then he kisses her. It’s surprising, but. Not entirely unwelcome. There is a reason she kissed him before, even if she’s not entirely sure what that reason is. It feels good, at least. She doesn’t really know how it happens, but somehow she ends up on her desk, kissing and holding him like she’ll never stop.

One thing leads to another.

 

She spends the next couple of days avoiding Will. It was okay after the BBC Me launch – she could write that off as the Prosecco talking – but this is different. It’s just a one-off, she tells herself, just something she had to get out of her system. She’s just not sure Will realises that. She’s not sure she wants to tell him.

She can’t avoid him forever, and she only manages a couple of days brushing him off and saying she's busy in meetings. Will probably knows she’s lying. Then she’s heading to a meeting – a real one this time – when she sees him walking down the corridor towards her. For a moment, she considers diving into one of the meeting rooms. But that would be ridiculous – she can be a professional and just walk past him.

“Yeah hey Izzy,” Will says, and shit, she’s apparently talking to him now.

“Sorry Will,” Izzy says, not breaking her stride, “I’ve got a meeting.”

“I’m sorry if I did something wrong.”

Izzy stops.

“What?”

“If that’s why you’re not talking to me.”

“Will, I’m not – I’ve just been busy.”

Will nods, but she knows he's not convinced.

“Yeah, okay cool. It’s just I should have like used protection?”

“Oh. It’s okay, I mean… I’m on the pill, so.”

“Yeah okay cool. But it’s like, you know it’s all about making your partner feel safe.”

Will looks so serious, and Izzy doesn’t think she’s ever been with anyone who cared this much about contraception. Guys usually just expect her to sort that out. She reaches out and rubs Will’s arm reassuringly.

“Will, it’s fine. I was fine.”

“Because I like, I did get tested a while ago so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Izzy really doesn’t want to be having this conversation. This is the kind of conversation you have when you’re dating someone and it’s getting serious. This isn’t the kind of conversation you have after a one-off. And it’s not the kind of conversation she ever thought she’d have with Will.

“Sorry Will, I’ve got to…” she says, starting to leave.

“No, yeah, okay cool.”

 

It wasn’t a one-off. But then, she’s always known that.

 

Ian was right. The Way Ahead meetings are… hectic.

“I’m not being funny or anything,” Tracey says, “But before we start Izzy, there’s been a lot of talk around the building about you and Will.”

“Me and Will?” says Izzy.

Bike season is coming up soon – but not as soon, it seems, as the topic of her relationship with Will.

“Oh yes,” says David, “Lovely Will.”

“Will?” says Simon, evidently waiting for Ben or Jerry to fill him in.

As two people whose roles have been reimagined as not existing, they do not.

“ _Will_?” says Neil, “You mean the intern?”

“Yes, Neil, that I do,” says Tracey.

“You can’t be serious,” says Neil.

“He’s actually Ian’s assistant now,” says Izzy.

“Really?” says Neil.

“Yes,” says Ian.

“Why?” Neil asks.

“Come on, spill the beans, girlfriend,” says Siobhan.

“I mean I don’t think that’s what Izzy is here for,” says Lucy.

“No,” says Ian.

“I just thought that’s something you should be aware of,” Tracey tells Izzy, “I won’t lie to you, I was surprised to hear it. But then I did hear you kissed at the BBC Me launch so then I thought, anything’s possible.”

“Bloody hell,” says Neil.

“Sorry, the BBC Me launch?” says Izzy.

“Well, I say heard, but it was actually broadcast on the livestream,” says Tracey.

“Right,” says Izzy.

“Bummer,” says Siobhan.

“Shall we just,” says Lucy.

“Yes, shall we just move on?” says Ian, “As far as I can see, our personal lives aren’t on the agenda today.”

“No brilliant, Ian,” says Simon.

 

By the time the meeting ends, Izzy feels like she’s aged ten years. Slightly dazed, she gets up after everyone else. Ian holds the door for her. He looks like he knows how she’s feeling.

“Thanks for, you know, saving me there,” Izzy says.

“Oh, don’t worry. I know what it’s like to have your personal life out in the open. I can’t say I much enjoyed it.”

“No.”

“Although, if I can give you any advice, and I don’t know if I’m really qualified to, but well I’m going to give it anyway. If I can give you any advice, if you and Will want to keep things quiet and I completely understand that, you probably don’t want to be doing anything in the office. Even if it is late, you know, there are still people around.”

Well, that wakes Izzy up.

“And the other thing is,” Ian says, “And again, I know I’m not really qualified to be giving advice on this either – Will is in many ways remarkable, but you know he does rather take things literally. And there are a lot of things he isn’t really, well, shall we say he isn't really ready for.”

“Right,” Izzy says.

She’s surprised at how angry she is. She knows Ian is only trying to protect Will – for some reason they have a strange father-son dynamic that no one is really prepared to address – but she also knows he’s wrong about him. He still sees him as a child. He looks at him and sees all the things he can’t do. And everyone else does, and Izzy used to, and it took a lot to realise she was wrong.

“Just something to think about,” says Ian, turning to leave.

“You know,” Izzy says, “You might be surprised about him.”

“Believe me, Will never ceases to surprise me.”

 

“I think Ian knows about what we did in the office,” Izzy whispers.

Izzy’s pulled Will to one side because, well, this can’t wait. She hasn’t really spoken to him properly since that awkward contraception discussion. She didn’t know how to, so she’s just made an effort to be nice to him and make up that way.

“Okay, yeah, cool. Say again?”

“I think he might have seen us. Or… heard.”

Will blinks.

“You know,” Izzy says, “When I stayed late. And you… kept me company.”

Will still looks confused.

“And we had sex on my desk,” Izzy says, a little too loudly.

“Ohhh, oh yeah cool. That was good.”

Will smiles and bites his lip a little.

“I’m not arguing about that,” says Izzy, “My point is, Ian knows.”

“Yeah, crap.”

“So we can’t do it again.”

Will’s face falls.

“Not here, I mean,” Izzy says.

It takes a few seconds for Will to process what she’s said. He smiles.

“Yeah, okay cool.”

 

Bike season finally comes, and with it, On Your Bike. The whole thing has taken months – actually, over a year since Will first suggested the idea – and Izzy can’t really believe it’s actually happening. It’s her first project, the first thing she’s seen from start to finish. She made this happen. A lot of other people did too – Claudia Winkleman and Amanda Holden included. But especially Will. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for him. On the evening On Your Bike airs, Izzy pauses the TV in Norman Wisdom and tells Will she has something to show him.

“Look,” she says.

“Woah,” Will says, “ _Development Producer Izzy Gould_. That’s like, mental.”

“No, no, I mean what’s next to it.”

Will looks at the screen. Next to Izzy’s name are the words _Based on an original idea by Will Humphries._ He looks at Izzy, then back again.

“That’s me,” he says.

“Yeah, that’s you.”

Izzy rubs his back, feels her eyes starting to prick with tears.

“I’m so proud of you, Will.”

“Yeah, no, me too. I mean, of you.”

Will puts his arm round her shoulders and kisses the top of her head.

“You know you’re like, so clever and kind and beautiful?” he says.

“Stop it,” Izzy says fondly.

“No, I mean it.”

Will swallows, and he has that look of confusion and affection she’s got to know pretty well over the last few months.

“I love you,” he says.

And Izzy shouldn’t be surprised, because Will’s loved her for a long time and he’s the emotional one, the one who shows everything he feels because he’s Will and he doesn't have the presence of mind to hide it. They’ve known each other for years, but it still makes something inside her twist and change and she’s not sure if she’s happy or scared.

“Okay guys,” says Siobhan, suddenly bursting into the room, “We’ve got a major shitstorm going down here and we need to ride this train all the way to nopesville.”

Izzy and Will jump apart as everyone senior management trails in.

“Yeah, we’re fucked,” says Neil.

“Will, can you get me a latte?” Ian asks, rubbing his face with a certain weariness.

“Yeah, okay cool yeah,” Will stumbles.

He looks back at Izzy as he wanders out of the room.

 

“I’m sorry to bother you about this, it’s just I don’t have anyone else to talk to.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” says Lucy, “You know I’m always, yes well we should do this more really.”

Izzy’s called Lucy in for a damage limitation meeting of her own. Just a coffee in the canteen – empowerment is busy work, and Lucy never has much time to spare. But she’s the only person who Izzy knows who also knows Will, and who isn’t either totally impossible to talk to or Ian.

“It’s just, well,” Izzy begins, “The other day, when On Your Bike premiered, Will… said that he loved me, and –”

“Oh my god,” Lucy says, “You’re engaged.”

“What? No.”

“You’re pregnant?”

“No.”

“Sorry, it’s just, you’ve been together for what, it must be a year now? And you’re, well, you’re young people. Everything is exciting and new in your twenties.”

Lucy smiles and shrugs, taking a sip of coffee.

“Sorry, Lucy,” Izzy says, “When did you realise we were together?”

“Oh, well, actually you kissed at the BBC Me launch, but I knew you’d been seeing each other for a while before that.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Well, really, it was the whole On Your Bike thing.”

Izzy nods slowly.

“Because, you know, you really fought for that idea, and it is a great idea, but I knew you wanted to prove Will was – well, show some of his qualities.”

“Yes,” Izzy says.

“I didn’t, I mean I didn’t say anything. Well, actually, I told Ian, but he didn’t believe me.”

“No.”

“Yes, well, people can surprise you.”

“That’s… very true,” says Izzy.

 

She finds Will at his desk, watching some kind of nature documentary. She can’t help but smile at him, the look of concentration on his face, the occasional “woah”.

“Will?”

Will quickly takes out his earphones and turns round to face her.

“Yeah, hi, Izzy.”

He smiles at her, and she realises how fond and familiar that smile has become.

“I’m just watching this for Ian. Did you know albatrosses mate for life? Like even if the other one dies, they don’t mate again? It’s pretty cool.”

“How long have you been my boyfriend?” Izzy asks.

"Yeah. Say again?”

“Because I think it’s been a while.”

“Yeah, okay, cool. Um, like nearly a year I guess?”

“Okay.”

“Yeah, mental, I know.”

Will’s eyes widen.

“Crap.”

“What?”

“Have I, crap, have I forgotten our anniversary?”

“What?”

“Because I was like, I was totally going to do something really cool. Like with swans.”

“No, you haven’t – swans?”

Will nods. No further explanation comes.

“You haven’t forgotten our anniversary, Will. I’m the one who’s done something wrong.”

“No,” Will says, “You haven’t.”

He looks up at her with his big eyes and, shit, Izzy’s going to cry again. She feels small and stupid, the enormity of Will’s love so obvious and so blinding that she doesn’t know how she hasn’t seen it before. Her darling, darling Will.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been a really crap girlfriend.”

Will takes her hand.

“What? No, no, you’re perfect, Izzy. You always have been.”

“I’ve never told you how I feel. I’ve never called you my boyfriend.”

“Okay, yeah, but it’s like, it’s cool. It’s just sometimes people take time.”

Will looks so earnest, she has to kiss him.

“I love you,” she says, and Will holds her face in his hands and his smile is everything.

This is of course the moment that Ian walks in. Well, it is his creative clearing, so she can’t really reproach him for it.

“Will, can I have your notes on the BBC programme output this week? When you’re quite ready?”

Izzy lets go of Will, grins and kisses Ian on the cheek.

“Thank Lucy for me,” she says, and skips out of the room.

As she leaves, she thinks she can hear Ian say, “How you ever got that girl, I have no idea, Will.”

“Yeah I know, yeah mental.”

 

“So I think my phone’s broken?” says Jack.

“Oh,” says Izzy, not bothering to look up from her laptop.

“Yeah. Because I just opened Facebook and I saw this.”

Jack passes her his phone. On the screen is a relationship status: _Izzy Gould is in a relationship with Will Humphries_. There’s a picture of them together.

“That’s not funny,” Izzy says.

“No. What is funny is that you're Facebook official with Will.”

“Well, it’s our anniversary next week. I realised we never got round to it.”

“Are you serious?”

 

Of course, Izzy should have realised that becoming Facebook official was going to have its drawbacks. Like Siobhan finding out. Izzy... honestly doesn’t know why they’re Facebook friends. Actually, she does, it’s because Siobhan insisted on adding all of them three years ago and Izzy gave in. And now she’s stuck in a Way Ahead meeting with the woman.

“Oh my god,” says Siobhan, “This is like so cool. Like how many people at the BBC actually get married? To each other?”

“Quite a few, yes,” says Lucy.

“It’s like none,” says Siobhan.

“Well I’m sorry Siobhan,” says Tracey, “But I for one get invited to quite a few weddings every summer.”

“Sadiq and Azia got married last year,” says Lucy.

“Like who even is that, I don’t even know who that is,” says Siobhan.

“Sadiq Imran,” says Lucy.

“Sadiq Imran,” Simon repeats, in that way that means he has no idea who they’re talking about and is waiting for Ben and Jerry to explain.

Their roles are still being imagined as not existing.

“Hashtag beardyweather?” says Lucy.

“What?” says Siobhan.

“Seriously?” Tracey says.

“You did a whole...” Lucy begins.

“We’re not getting married,” says Izzy.

“You so are,” Siobhan says.

 

On their anniversary, there’s a bunch of flowers and a card on Izzy’s desk. The card has a photograph of two albatrosses on it. Inside, Will’s simple handwriting fills the page.

_Dear Izzy,_

_When I met Sir David Attenborough, I said that I had got someone at work into trouble by accident and I needed his help. He wasn’t angry or anything, even though I wasn’t meant to see him, he just smiled and said “I expect this is a young lady?” It was so cool, everything he said sounded kind of epic like it was on a documentary. I told him about you. I said yeah Izzy Gould, she’s like a development producer and I have a photo of her on my phone and everything. He laughed and said “young love” in that way old people do. He said if he helped me then I ought to ask you to go dancing or whatever it is young people do nowadays. I said I don’t think you’d ever notice me and he said “well, I think this ought to get her attention”. But I didn’t do it to impress you, I did it because I made a mistake and I didn’t want you to lose your job. And I didn’t want to not see you every day because I was in love with you. I knew I would always love you but I didn’t think you would love me back. It’s kind of mental that you do. Happy anniversary._

_Will_

_PS. Sorry there’s no swans._

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I had to work in my headcanon about what Will said to Sir David Attenborough.
> 
> Apparently, this is the first W1A fanfiction on AO3, ever. I really hope it finds a few people in this tiny fandom!


End file.
